White Carnations
by SplatterCracker
Summary: "Chat, how do you flirt?" Marinette has had enough; she was finally going to confess to Adrien. The only question is, how? Well, when it comes to romance, who better to ask than Chat?
1. Chapter 1

"Chat, how do you flirt?" Ladybug asked, holding her mug of hot chocolate to her lips. It was night, around midnight to be exact. The two had just finished their patrol for the night, as was routine. And as per usual, she had brought along two cups and a small silver thermos, filled to the brim with hot chocolate. Stashed away on a rooftop until the end of the patrol, the sweet drink became somewhat of a nightly tradition between the two of them after Chat had confessed that he wasn't allowed to drink that kind of stuff at home.

"Huh?" Chat frowned at the question, cradling his own cup within his hands. He sat next to her on the rooftop ledge but slightly turned to fully face her. "Why do you ask?"

"You seemed like the best person to ask since you do it so often," she replied, playfully punching his arm. "It's almost like you need it to live, with how often you do it."

Chat laughed. "So you're just curious? You know that I only do it with you, right my lady?"

"Mhm."

"Really, I do," Chat grinned. "Cat's honor. You're the only purrincess for me."

"You should only flirt with someone you really like," she scolded.

"So...you?"

Ladybug rolled her eyes. "Sure. So how do you do it?"

"What do you mean?"

"How do you, you know…" She gestured vaguely with one hand. "Where do you get the confidence from?"

"Hm? Is my lady having some confidence problems? I didn't take you for a scaredy cat," he teased, poking her in the arm.

She swatted him away. "I'm only confident as Ladybug. And even then I'm not always confident."

"I beg to differ, purrincess. Why do you want to learn how to flirt, anyway? Just to gain some confidence? Or…" He scooted closer, a smirk on his face. "You got a crush on someone?"

She crossed her arms. "I do, but it's not you, so back up, kitty."

His heart sank. "What?"

"I said, 'back up, kitty.' Scoot back over."

"You have a crush on someone?"

"Well…" She looked down, a light blush on her face.

"Seriously?" He asked in disbelief. "Are you serious?"

When she didn't answer, his shoulders sank. Of course, he had considered the possibility of Ladybug liking someone already, but since she never made any mention of such a crush, he'd assumed that he was overthinking things. Or just denying the possibility.

His grip on his cup tightened.

"What's...he like?"

Ladybug fidgeted. "Kind. He thinks of others first before himself. He's a little vain sometimes, I think, but he's also the nicest guy I know. He's patient and even though he sometimes doesn't speak up for himself, he tries his best at everything."

Chat snorted. "Sounds like a dork."

" _You're_ a dork," Ladybug retorted. Then she sighed. "But I can't bring myself to speak properly around him."

"Why?"

"I don't know, I just can't." She was suddenly frustrated, scowling at her cup. "He's _perfect_. And I'm just...me."

"Just you? You're _Ladybug_. He'd be an idiot for not wanting to be with you."

"Well, he doesn't know I'm Ladybug," she said dryly. "Besides, I'm completely different as a civilian. I'm clumsy, airheaded, a total klutz—"

"—and one hundred percent Ladybug," he finished. "You think I'm like this as a civilian? We're both different when we're transformed, but we're still ourselves. This just lets us show a different part of us."

Ladybug pouted. "I know, but still. I want to confess to him, but I'm not confident as Ladybug when I'm a civilian."

"You...want to confess?" His chest seemed to tighten.

She sighed. "I should. I've tried before but I just can't. I think my friend will kill me if I don't confess soon. So I was hoping that you'd have some advice for me."

He fell silent. Instead of answering immediately, he gently swished the drink around in his cup. How dense could this girl be, asking him for advice on this sort of thing? Was this what people called the "friend zone?" On one hand, he wanted to help his lady out, especially since it was really rare for her to ask for help of any sort. But on the other hand, she's asking him to help his rival. A rival who he didn't even know the name to.

"How long have you known him?" He finally asked.

Shrugging, she raised her cup to her lips again.

"Since the beginning of the school year?" She mumbled into her cup before taking a sip.

So she's known him for about as long as he'd known her, he thought sourly. Yet, he lost to this guy. What made this guy so special anyway? He was sure that he was better looking than whoever this mystery guy is.

"...I see. And you can't bring yourself to speak around him?"

She shook her head.

"My friend teases me about it a lot," she admitted. "She said that the whole class knows by now since it's so obvious. I want to tell him how I feel, but when I do, I just get all tongue-tied."

"Sounds like the cat's got your tongue," he joked halfheartedly.

"I tried to send him a card on Valentine's, but I don't think I signed my name on it. When I thought I was finally going on a date with him, it turned out that it was with his friend instead. Then when I gave him a birthday present, he thought it was from someone else. It's like bad luck just follows me wherever I go when I'm not Ladybug," she groaned, leaning her head back.

Chat chuckled. "Aren't ladybugs supposed to be lucky, though? Quit hogging all the bad luck, that's my job."

"You can have it back," she replied sourly. "I don't want it."

"I'll take as much bad luck as you want to give me, my lady," Chat said with a smile.

"Not having bad luck isn't going to help me much, though," she said, pulling a face. "What I need is confidence. Which is why I'm asking you for advice."

"...How about flowers?"

"Flowers?" She looked at him, puzzled.

"Yeah. Flowers," he said with a small smile. "Nothing big, maybe a couple of white carnations or something. Attach a note with your confession on it, and you're all set. That way, you don't have to say anything, right?"

"Well, I guess, but…"

"Three white carnations. A small heart-shaped note attached. With your signature this time, of course," he added. "If you can't handle giving it to him in person, just put it in his locker or something. There's no way to mess it up."

"I suppose." She slightly straightened up. A small smile grew on her face. "He does seem like the kind of person to like flowers."

"See?"

"And I do know his locker combination."

"...Why do you know his locker combination?"

"Chat, this could actually work," she said excitedly, ignoring his question. "I know the perfect flower shop to get flowers from too."

He smiled. "Don't I just give the most purrfect advice?"

"Yes, thank you!" She downed the rest of her drink and held out her hand. "Hurry up and finish your hot chocolate. I've got to get him and make the card. This time, I'll make sure that I won't forget to sign it."

"Alright, alright. Gimme a mew seconds." Following her example, he finished the rest of his now cool drink before handing the cup back. "You're going to do it tomorrow?"

She nodded. Standing up, she stretched briefly before gathering the cups and thermos into a small bag and tied it around her wrist.

"If I don't do it tomorrow, I'll lose my nerve. If that happens, I'll _never_ get it done. Never. So it has to be tomorrow," she said firmly. She held out her hand to Chat, which he accepted. As soon as she finished helping him up, she smiled at him.

"Thank you, Chat."

"Y-Yeah." He looked away, a worm of guilt in his stomach.

"Until tomorrow night then. Night, Chat." She nodded at him before pulled out her yo-yo. And with that, she was gone.

"Goodnight."

* * *

"Flowers?" Plagg said in disbelief. "With a love note? That's the cheesiest thing I've ever heard, and I _know_ cheese."

"Well, I never said I'd give _good_ advice." Adrien ran his hand through his hair. He'd just returned to his room only moments ago, and already he felt dead tired. Not physically, of course, as he was perhaps one of the fittest boys in his age group in Paris due to being a model as well as a superhero, but mentally, he was exhausted.

"You gave her bad advice on purpose?" Plagg asked, rolling his eyes. "Wow."

"She asked me to help my rival in love, what was I supposed to do?"

"Not give advice at all?"

"That's just mean. I can't do that to Ladybug."

"But you're willing to give her bad advice." Plagg shook his head. "You humans are weird."

"It wasn't that bad of advice," he protested. "I'll probably work."

"Yeah, if that guy's a huge dork for cliches. He'll most likely just think that she's weird. See, this is why I don't understand you humans. Why would you choose to deal with all these complicated stuff when you can have cheese instead? Cheese won't ask you for bad advice. Cheese is simple. Cheese is loyal."

"Cheese is stinky," Adrien corrected.

"A small sacrifice for greatness," the kwami said fondly.

"Right. I won't judge your food choices if you don't judge my life choices."

Plagg shrugged. "It's your life. I don't see why you didn't just confess to her right there."

"The timing wasn't right. A confession has to be _perfect_."

"You just set her confession on the track to ruin, you have no right to talk."

"It really isn't that bad of advice. He'll probably like it; even she said that he seemed like the kind of person to like flowers."

"Do you know any guys whose ideal confession is to be given flowers?"

"Well, no…"

"See? You gave her bad advice and you know it. You might as well prepare to comfort her now when she comes back after being rejected. Who knows, that could have been her soulmate and you just ruined her life. Forever."

"Wow, you're just a ray of sunshine, aren't you."

Plagg shrugged. "I'm just telling the truth. Now, where's my camembert?"

* * *

"Man, I'm beat." Nino stretched, his arm nearly whacking Adrien in the face as he did so.

"Nino, we barely did anything this class," Adrien said, rolling his eyes as he jotted down the homework before closing his notebook.

"Being in school drains my very life from my body, dude. Are you doing anything after school today?"

"Piano lessons," Adrien replied apologetically. "Did you want to do something?"

"Nah, just asking. You ready, man?"

"Yeah. I have to get my books from my locker first though."

"Sure, let's go," Nino said standing up. "See you later, Alya, Marinette."

"Bye guys," Alya said, with a small wave. Adrien smiled at the two girls. As usual, Marinette quickly looked down as he did so. He wondered, not for the first time, if she still disliked him.

"See you tomorrow," he said with a smile. Then he followed Nino out.

"Do you actually bring your books home from school?" Nino asked.

"Yeah. I have a tutor at home who father asked to teach me lessons from schools ahead of time, so I bring the book home on days I have lessons."

"Sounds like a pain, man."

"It is," he admitted. "But there's not much I can do about it."

"Don't bring them home. Then you can't have your lesson," Nino joked.

"I'd rather not have double lessons next time to make up for one skipped lesson, thanks," Adrien said, rolling his eyes.

"Harsh."

"That's my father for you."

"I feel sorry for you, dude. I can't imagine living like that. I'd go crazy."

"It's not too bad once you get used to it," Adrien sighed. "Anyways, here's my locker. You don't have to wait up for me, I have to go straight home today."

"You sure, man?"

"Yeah, it's fine. See you tomorrow?"

"Until tomorrow." Nino grinned and did a mock wave before turning and leaving.

Turning to his locker, Adrien started putting in his combination lock. It was almost muscle memory, and within seconds, he had his locker opened.

And like clockwork, he nearly grabbed his book and closed the door once again if it weren't for the three snow-white carnations leaning against his history textbook.

Tied together at the stems with a small white ribbon, the flowers weren't wrapped in clear plastic as most larger bouquets usually are but instead sported a small heart-shaped card. For a few seconds, he merely stared at the flowers in confusion. Then it hit him.

 _"Three white carnations. A small heart-shaped note attached"_

 _"If you can't handle giving it to him in person, just put it in his locker or something."_

Dear lord, she actually did it.

Letting out a short laugh in pure disbelief, he started to reach out to the flowers, almost afraid to touch them. When the petals didn't disappear under his fingers, his hand trailed down to the card.

It was a simple card, no bigger than the size of his palm. The white paper was thick, and the ribbon connected the card to the flowers through a small hole punched into the top corner.

Inside this card was Ladybug's identity. After nearly a year of not knowing just who was behind that mask, he has the answer literally at his fingertips. All he has to do is open the card.

And yet...he hesitated.

If he opened this card, Ladybug's identity would be revealed. The one thing, the _only_ thing, that Ladybug never felt comfortable enough to share with him. He could undo it right here, right now, without her even realizing it. Would she be mortified? Furious? Disappointed?

...Happy?

It would make sense, he thought, as he fiddled with the card absentmindedly. She liked him and he liked her. Therefore, they liked each other. It shouldn't matter if they fell for different identities of each other, each identity they had were parts to the same whole. So why did it feel so wrong?

He shook his head.

No, it wasn't wrong. He knew that she was comfortable with Chat. They were close as partners and as friends. The only thing that stopped her from seeing that was her crush on, well, himself.

What about him then? Was he close with her civilian identity? Heck, did he even know her normal identity? They could go to the same school, but she could be in a whole different grade for all he knew. What if he didn't get along with her civilian identity? That'd be awkward for sure.

"Did you _die_? Hurry up and open it," Plagg hissed, sticking his head out of Adrien's jacket.

"But—"

"Nobody wants to listen to your pathetic inner turmoil. This is the chance to find out the identity of the _love of your life_. So hurry up and open it before I open it for you."

"Plagg, get back in my jacket. What if someone sees you?" Adrien whispered, subtly glancing around him at the same time. Luckily, most students had already left the school building, and those who hadn't weren't in the area.

"You took too long deciding."

"What if—"

" _If_ you don't like her other identity then don't say anything as Chat and reject her as Adrien. She won't know any better and you two can go on being partners. If you decide to accept her confession then you tell her as Chat and get a happily ever after. What's so hard about it?" Plagg asked, exasperated. "You humans make everything so complicated."

"Well, I suppose you're right…"

"Of course I'm right. Now hurry up so we can go home. I'm hungry."

Adrien sighed. "When aren't you?"

Grabbing his textbook along with the flower, he closed the locker.

"There is always room for camembert," Plagg declared.

"Yeah, yeah. There's always time for a bath too, with the way you stink."

"Cats don't need baths. So are you going to open the card or not?"

"I will when I get home."

"Oh for crying out loud," Plagg groaned. Before Adrien could stop him, the kwami flew straight out of Adrien's jacket, snatching the card along with the flowers.

"Hey!"

"Blah blah, have always loved you, blah, blah, love of my life, blah—hey, where's the signature?"

"What? Give me that." Adrien grabbed the card back, quickly scanning over the contents. It was a short note, written in red cursive _._

And it was missing a signature.

"You fell in love with an idiot," Plagg deadpanned. And for once, Adrien agreed.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **This was gonna be a reveal fic. And then I remembered I gotta wake up early (it's 2AM, opps) I'll probably put up the last/reveal scene in the future if I can manage to write it right. Thank you for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**This is an optional reveal. I'm actually pretty happy with how the last chapter ended, but I know how some people can't stand that kind of ending so…**

 **If you were happy with how the last chapter ended, I wouldn't recommend reading this. Don't wanna risk letting you down lol**

* * *

"Chat, I'm an idiot," Ladybug groaned. "The biggest, most stupid, _idiot_."

"Purrhaps," he said, handing her a cup of hot chocolate before pouring one for himself. They sat on their usual rooftop, yet another night's patrol finished. "But isn't that what makes you the cat's meow?"

"Me being an idiot?" She made a face. "I would consider that a flaw."

"Flaws aren't necessarily bad, my lady."

"I'm pretty sure they're called flaws for a reason," she replied dryly. "It's just...I literally made the same mistake before."

He laughed. "I guess that's one mistake you didn't learn from. If you're so worried, why don't you just put another note in his locker to tell him who you are?"

"And let him know which idiot was the one who forgot to sign the card? No thanks," she said, rolling her eyes as she took a sip.

"I'm serious. I'm sure he's wondering who left the card in his locker," Chat said with a smile. "Or, rather, how someone knows his locker combination."

"A lady has her secrets," she replied nonchalantly. He laughed.

"I never took you for a stalker, my lady."

"I'm not a stalker," she protested. "I'm just...a careful observer."

"Yes, yes. Whatever makes you happy," he said, grinning. "So if you're not going to put another note in his locker, what are you going to do?"

She shrugged, taking a long drink from her cup.

"I still think you should put a note telling him who you are in his locker."

Ladybug only answered with a grunt. Unfazed by her tone, he continued.

"Think about it. What if he starts asking around, wondering who left flowers in his locker or something? Then _everybody_ would know," he paused. "unless you tell him it was you."

"He wouldn't do that," she said. But now her tone was uncertain. Chat pressed further.

"Or, someone hears that he doesn't know who confessed to him and takes credit for the confession. There's always a chance of that happening if he's popular enough," he continued. "Of course, that's only if he's a popular guy," he added after a paused.

Her eyes widened. "Do people really do that?"

"Yep," he lied smoothly. He was having way too much fun with this. He'd never thought of Ladybug as the gullible type when it came to romance, and it was amusing to watch. "Happens all the time."

Her eyes widened, no doubt thinking of all the possibilities. He almost felt bad.

"But hey, don't worry," he said cheerfully, bringing his mug up for a sip. "He can't be _that_ popular, right?"

"He's…" Ladybug seemed to struggle for words. "He's...somewhat popular. Chat, what should I _do_?"

He shrugged.

"It's your choice."

* * *

Marinette gripped the card tightly in her hands, nearly crushing the poor slip of paper. She looked around in worry, afraid that someone would round the corner into the hall at any second. From experience, she knew that most people didn't come to school this early. Even if anyone did come into the hall now, there was a likely chance that the person wouldn't actually know Marinette and as a result, wouldn't realize that she wasn't opening her own locker.

She took a deep breath.

She'd decided to make a smaller version of the white card that she had given to Adrien yesterday, with the same kind of ribbon she used tied into a bow and glued onto one of the outer corners. She rubbed the paper absentmindedly. This was actually her third smaller version of the card. The first two had been crumpled and tossed into the trash soon after completion.

Before anyone came around and before she could change her mind yet again, she quickly opened the locker, her fingers automatically spinning the memorized combination into the lock. The locker opened with a small metal clang.

She let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. All that was left was to throw the card in.

She carefully placed the card on top of a stack of books.

"Marinette?"

She spun around, her heart jumping to her throat. Adrien stood by the locker row end, just stepping out from around the bend. He didn't even look too surprised, almost like he was expecting her. Heck, he didn't even look mad. On the contrary, he looked somewhat relieved.

"A-A-Adrien?" she stammered, taking an automatic step back. What on earth was he doing here!? Of all the people to have seen her, it just had to be _him_? Literally, the one person who absolutely _could not_ see her in his locker. This wasn't in his schedule; he wasn't even supposed to be at school for nearly another hour at least!

He grinned at her. "It's you."

"U-Um…" She didn't really know what he meant by that, much less how to respond to that. Her face was a scarlet and felt hot enough to fry an egg. He didn't seem angry—that had to be a good sign, right? Had he been expecting it to be her? How? "Y-Yes?"

He took a step towards her. She took a step back.

Adrien paused, appearing to notice for the first time just how on edge she seemed to be. He held up his hands placatingly. He might as well have not bothered for all the good it did.

"Mari—"

"I-I can explain!" she suddenly exclaimed. "I wasn't—I mean, I _was_ —in your locker, but only because I saw it open and, um, I saw this paper and I, you know, put it back in?"

The model raised an eyebrow at her explanation, amusement dancing in his eyes. "Marinette, I've been watching since before you put my combination in."

Oh dear lord.

"Y-You were?" she squeaked. She was starting to feel faint, her cheeks burning impossibly hot. Her nails dug deep into her palms, the sharp pain undeniable proof that this wasn't a dream and that she is, in fact, making a complete fool of herself in front of Adrien _again_. Except, this time she wasn't sure if she could ever look him in the eye again, much less redeem herself in any way. She prayed for an akuma attack.

Adrien nodded.

"Oh...u-um, I, um, I-I think I need to go bury myself now," she said breathlessly. She made to walk past him with her eyes cast downwards, unable to even so much as to look at him.

"'Three white carnations. A small heart-shaped note attached,'" Adrien began. He buried his hands in his pockets as he slowly began walking closer, stepping around the benches between the rows of lockers. He stopped only a few steps away from her, blocking her escape. Marinette froze. "If you can't handle giving it to him in person, just put it in his locker or something. There's no way to mess it up.' Right?"

She slowly turned towards him, still refusing to meet his gaze. She turned his words over and over in her mind, not quite believing she heard correctly. "W-What…?"

"Flaws aren't necessarily bad, my lady," he said quietly. Her breath hitched in her throat.

Slowly lifting her eyes, she finally looked at him. He watched her intently, silently gauging her reaction as he chewed on the bottom corner of his lip.

"Chat?" she breathed.

"My lady?" he answered tentatively.

" _Chat_ ," she repeated, stronger this time. Her gaze flickered away and she frowned. She rubbed her temples, already feeling a headache coming on. "Wait—No. No, no, no. You're...Adrien... _Chat_?"

He stayed silent, watching her as she began to pace.

"But that means…Adrien…This whole time…" She spun on her heels. " _Chat?_ "

"Careful, you'll wear out my name," he joked halfheartedly.

"I think I need to sit down," she said weakly as she sank down onto one of the benches beside them. She buried her face in her hands.

A few seconds later, she heard Adrien take a seat on her left side. Her arms prickled with goosebumps at the proximity and she was suddenly hyper-aware of just how close he was. Less than an inch more to the left and she was certain that she would feel him brush against her; she wasn't sure if her heart could handle that quite yet.

"Bugaboo?"

For the first time, she noticed the slightest hint of a tremor in his voice. A detail so insignificant that on a normal day, she wouldn't have even picked up on it. With a small jolt, she suddenly realized that he was also nervous. But why?

Marinette peeked at him through her fingers. He was still watching her, an uneasy smile on his face. His ears glowed pink and grew pinker still as he noticed her staring.

She took a shuddering breath.

"How long have you known?" she asked, her voice slightly muffled by her hands.

He seemed taken back by the question and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "How long have I known that you were Ladybug?"

She nodded.

Adrien smiled wryly. "Since about five minutes ago. All I knew was that Ladybug left me that note. I just had to figure out who it was."

"I-I see." She chewed on her lip.

They sat in silence for a minute, both waiting for the other to speak. It was Adrien who broke the silence first.

"Are you disappointed?"

This time, it was her turn to be confused. She frowned, lifting her head from her hands to give him a confused look. "What?"

"You know…" He gestured helplessly. "About me being Chat...?"

"What?" She gaped at him. "Why would _I_ be disappointed? You...You're Adrien! A supermodel by day, a superhero by night… How could I be disappointed with _you_? I'm the one who should be asking that! You always flirted with Ladybug and even if that's all fake, I'm the complete opposite of that girl! I'm just Marinette Dupain-Cheng! I'm clumsy, forgetful, awkward, irresponsible—"

"I wouldn't have revealed myself if I was disappointed with you," Adrien said softly, cutting her off. "I'd just have politely rejected you and kept pretending that I didn't know who you were."

"But…I'm just Marinette."

He shook his head. "No. You're Marinette _and_ Ladybug. Two parts of a whole, remember? Just like how I'm both Chat and Adrien."

"But—"

"Are you disappointed that I'm Chat? Do you think less of me?" he interrupted. Marinette immediately shook her head.

"Of course not."

He smiled, his relief obvious. "Then why would you think that I think less of you now?"

"It's just...I-I don't know what to think anymore," she admitted. She looked down at her hands. "My...crush is one of my best friends? I don't know what I'm supposed to do now."

Adrien didn't speak at first, his silence worrying Marinette. Then he sighed. "You said that I flirted with Ladybug all the time. Do you really think that all of that was fake?"

Marinette hesitated. "I-I mean…"

"I don't go around chasing every girl I come across, Marinette."

"Oh…" Marinette bit the inside of her cheek. "Does that mean…?"

"I guess we liked each other all along," Adrien said softly, causing her to flush red again. "And...my feelings haven't changed. Knowing who you are hasn't changed anything for me. I know I don't know that much about you right now, especially since we both just realized who we actually are, but I want to get to know you better. If you feel the same way."

"I—Yes," Marinette breathed. Then, " _Yes_. Absolutely."

Adrien's eyes widened. "Seriously?"

She nodded, beaming. "Yes. Seriously."

He let out a short laugh of relief. "Oh thank goodness. Can I ask you just one question first?"

Marinette paused, wariness suddenly creeping back, but hesitantly nodded.

"How do you know my locker combination?"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **(2019 comment) Holy fuck, I actually wrote most of this back in 2017 and FORGOT TO FINISH/POST. So I found this again and rushed an ending :)**

 **Anyone else notice Adrien just standing behind that locker door like a total creep at the end of Evillustrator, just waiting until Marinette was done with her conversation?**


End file.
